


Red Lines

by smittnkitten



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bucky Barnes Remembers, Bucky Barnes Returns, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, F/M, Lost Bucky Barnes, Past Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Romance, Steve Rogers & Natasha Romanov Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-02-17
Packaged: 2018-03-13 13:14:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3382856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/smittnkitten/pseuds/smittnkitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After taking down S.H.I.E.L.D. and Hydra, Steve and Natasha go their separate ways. Steve is looking for leads on Bucky's whereabouts when he learns of Natasha's disappearance in Kiev.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Red Lines

Steve walks into the new S.H.E.I.L.D. headquarters and looks around. He hasn't been here yet, and it's nothing special. Filing cabinets, maps, computers, and lock doors he would probably never be able to get the clearance to pass through line the walls. Charcoal walls and gray S.H.I.E.L.D. logos were on everything, marking the territory for the reborn agency. 

He got the call from Margret, an older secretary that had just announced her retirement, and was having a party on Saturday to celebrate. She smiled at Steve as she usually does and pointed at Phil Coulson’s office. After Fury had “died”, he had taken over as the director of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Maria Hill had taken to his right hand man, or woman rather. 

Steve stepped into the office, which looked the same as Fury’s office in honor of his service. Coulson had always been softer than Fury, and it was obvious in his face when Steve walked in. He lit up and stepped towards the much taller soldier. Thinking he was getting a handshake, Steve holds out his hand. Instead, Coulson engulfs him in a hug. Steve studders from surprise, but claps his biggest fan on the back.

“How are you Cap?”

“I’m good, you?”

“Just fine, thank you.”

There was an awkward silence, neither man quite knowing what to do. Finally, the director gestures to one of the two black leather seats in front of his desk and clears his throat.

“Take a seat, we’ve got some catching up to do.”

Steve sat down and took a moment to take in Director Coulson’s desktop. It was orderly, but cluttered. As Hill would put it, ‘organized chaos’. That was always Coulson’s way of doing everything. It seemed to be working out for him, as he had been making some improvements to the security system so another incident like Hydra getting on the inside of S.H.I.E.L.D. never happened again. 

They talked for a few minutes about what they had been doing for a few months after S.H.I.E.L.D. had fallen. Steve had been searching for Bucky, but hadn’t got any new leads. He was back in town to get some files from one of Sam’s friends when Margret had called him in to speak with Coulson. The director had put all his efforts into repairing the agency.

“I’m sure you know, I didn’t just call you in to talk about the weather.”

“I figured.”

“It’s about Natasha.” Steve stiffened at the note in his voice. Something was wrong, and Steve needed to know. Coulson pulled out a file out of the cluttered mess and handed it to Steve. Who casually opened it to see a picture of Natasha. SHe had cut her hair, again.

“Nat?” It had been months since he had said goodbye at the cemetery where Fury was ‘buried’, and her name seemed foreign rolling off his tongue.

“Yes, we lost communication with her a few days ago. She was following up a lead on one of her personal missions.”

“Personal missions?”

Coulson pressed a button on his name plate and the windows were suddenly covered up and the door latched closed. Steve jumped, he was getting on edge.

“You know of Natasha’s history correct?”

“Some, just the basics. Just the stuff in her file that Fury gave to me. Is there something else I should know?”

“No, what you know is fine. It’s just that Natasha gets a little more leeway than are other agents. She gets to pick most her missions, especially now with Fury gone. I let her, out of respect for Fury’s trust in her, but sometimes she won’t tell us what she is going after. We have rules on what missions can and cannot be acted upon, and sometimes she will take her own missions. She’s more of a satellite agent, as we like to call it. We still giver her S.H.I.E.L.D. missions, but she’s choosy. We let her because she usually takes the cases that the government doesn’t like anyone to know we do, and keeps it on the down low. She is a very good agent, but a better spy. She thrives in the dirty stuff.” 

Steve didn’t understand why he needed to know this, he knew that Natasha was part of some dirty things, but they were private and he didn’t pry for the details. He wanted to stay out of that side of things, but now it looked like he might have to get his hands a little dirtier than he’d like. 

“She took on a mission of her own devising, and didn’t let us know much of the details. She said it had something to do with a personal friend, and that it wouldn’t take that long, so we let her go to Kiev, as long as she checked in with us twice a week. She stopped checking in with us the last week and a half”

Cap had been looking at her file when he heard Kiev. His head snapped up, that was one of the places he had gone to a few months ago to see where Bucky had been brainwashed. He knew Nat had ties back there, but he hadn’t expected her to go back. There was a lot of people who would love to get her hands on her in Kiev. There was a funny feeling in his heart, from memories of Bucky and that Natasha was definitely in some trouble.

“You need me to go there and extract her?”

“Not extract her, but merely make sure she’s ok. I’m not worried, I never am. Natasha is capable of taking care of herself. But she’s one of our important assets, she an Avenger for Pete’s sake, and we have to keep a close eye on her. A lot of people want her dead, especially after she blew all her covers. I'm surprised she wanted to go back there. Kiev is a dangerous place for someone with her history, and a week and a half is making some higher ups antsy.”

“Why me? I mean, I’ll take the mission, but I’m a soldier, not a spy.”

“You worked with her to take down Hydra. She trusts you, we trust you, everyone trusts you. You’ll get the job done no matter what. You said you’ll take it, I thank you for that. There will be a black SUV that will pick you up at your place tomorrow morning. Now, I have a meeting in five minutes so if you will….” He gestured to the door.

Steve stood up, shook Coluson’s hand, and walked out of the new S.H.I.E.L.D. building. He looked up at the graying sky and the red lines of the sunset shinning through, it was beautiful but mighty erie. The forecast called for a thunderstorm and it didn’t look like a soft rain either. Steve shivered, whether it was from the cooling air or the fact that Natasha could very well be in danger, he didn’t know.


End file.
